Balanced rudder



.'Feb. 4,1930. v I w. s um; 1,745,916

BALANCED RUDDER Filed March 26. 1928 ample in its preferable constructional form Patented i UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE WILLIAM SOHOILZ, OF ALTONA-KLEIN FLOTTBEK, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO DEUTSCHE 'WERFT AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY BALANCED RUDDER Amati... mam-a 2a, 1920, Serial No. 264,617,.andin Germany September 11,-" 1926.

Theoretical investigations and practical experiments on actual rudders show that the com lete balanced rudder of the known forms exhi its the most advantageous rudder ac- 5 tion with the minimum expenditure of power.

' The present invention solves the problem of employing a balanced rudder even with a closed rudder frame by constructing the rudder post removably in the region-of the screw race. This removable part of the rudderframe receives bearin swhich serve for guidlng the balanced rud er. The divisibility of the rudder frame thus rovided enables the VV rudder, together with t e releasable rudder v post, to be completely assembled in the work'- sho whereby accurate shop workisensured, wh ch has hitherto ,not beenpossibl'e" in the case of rudders which have had to-be' fitted and adjusted on the slipway I v v In the case of damage to the rudder or of a balanced-rudder requlrin to" beoverhauled, the present invention furt or permits of rudder and rudder post being dismounted in a minimum time in dock or on the slipway and replaced by a s are rudder and rudder post kept in stock. ince the rear part of the outwater shaped rudder is constructed as a di s placement rudder, onl

a small residual weight is taken by a ootstep bearing aran ranged on that part of the rudder post rigidly I connected with the ships hull, and this footstep bearing can be arranged above the water line, thereby makingit accessible for inspection and overhauling at any time. The bearae ings provided on the rudder post .are purely guide bearings.

The inventlon extends to the characteristic prolduction of the rudder from rolled mate- Theinvention is illustrated by way of exin the accom anying drawings wherein,

Figure 1 s ows, the balanced rudder with I the associated rudder post for a single-screw shilp, an igure 2 shows upon a larger scale a horizontal section through the rudder on the line A-A in Figure 1. v In these drawings a denotes the propeller post, 6 the rudder post which is releasably n and o of the propeller post a. Screw bolts referably serve as securing means. The reeasable rudder post]; is provided with bearings e and'f, to which the balanced rudder g is pivoted. Bearing bodies hand i are fixedly connected with the displacing part is of the balanced rudder. Their releasable covers enable the hearings to be adjusted.

The part on of the balanced rudder surrounding the front part of the rudder post forms, with the displacing part is located behindithe rudder axis, a cut-water shaped body, and is releasably connected with the latter preferably by welding.

The propeller post head n and the propeller post shoe 0 are extended by cut-water shaped projections as far as the front edge of the balanced rudder, for the purpose of obviating eddies by the interstices between the screw frame and the balanced rudder and in order to diminish the form resistance of the propeller frame to a minimum.

A footstep bearing 1; for the rudder spindle g is provided in the propeller post head a. The axis of the rudder spindle 9 coincides vwith the axis of the rudder post b. The lower end of the rudder spindle qvis in the form of a perpendicular flange r, opposite which is a corresponding flange s of the rudder body. The flanges r and s are preferably united by screw bolts. The footstep bearing p supports the weight of the rudder spindle q and the rudderloodlya counter-balanced by t e displacing action of the rudder. If the screw connectlons on the flanges c, d and s are released it is possible to remove,.without lifting, the rudder body together with the rudder post 6.

Now the invention presents a rudder construction which in comparison with known plate rudders, attains smaller weight for the same strength, an almost completely smooth surface'and a very simple construction. The smallness of the weight simplifies operating and" the smooth surface, toget er with the out water shape formation ensures satisfactory inso far as it is not stream-line flow along the rudder, thereby diminishing resistance.

These results are obtained by constructing the rudder merely as rolled material and avoiding castings and forgings, the connecting of the individual structural members being effected by butt welding or lap welding. The method of construction renders it possible, with minimum constructional weight,

for the rudder body to consist of a completely shaped shell of welded. iron plates. The top and bottom are also covered by welded iron plates, so that the rudder has, to a considerable extent, a water-displacing action.

The requisite strength of the rudder to resist torsion and the impact of the waves is obtained by means of a supporting structure welded into the hollow interior of the rudder. In the constructional form shown by way of example, the said supporting structure is a double T-girder t. It may however also consist of a tube, one or two U-irons or the like.

The invention is primarily adapted to large sea-going ships in which it is important to take up considerable rudder stresses and rudder weights by means of a light and yet reliable construction.

What I claim is:

1. A balanced rudder for ships, adapted to exert a displacing action and comprising a rudder spindle, a rudder post coinciding with said rudder spindle, means for releasably mounting said rudder post in the region of the propeller post of the ship, so that it may be removed horizontally therefrom and bearings on said rudder post, the rudder being pivoted to said bearings. i

2. A balanced rudder for ships, adapted to exert a displacing action and comprisin a rudder spindle, a rudder post coinciding with said rudder spindle, means for releasably mounting said rudder post in the region of the propeller post of the ship, (so that it may be removed horizontally therefrom) hearings on said rudder post, the rudder being pivoted to said bearings, a non-releasable rudder carrier, and a footstep bearing on said non-releasable rudder carrier, the weight of the rudder, in so far as it is not counterbalanced by the displacing of said rudder, being supported by said footstep bearing.

3. A balancedrudder for ships, adapted to exert a displacing action, and consisting entirely of rolled material such as plates, section iron and tubes, welded together, to the exclusion of castings and forgings.

4. A hollow balanced rudder for ships, adar ted to exert a displacing action, and consisting entirely of rolled material welded together, to the exclusion of castings and forgings, and comprising a welded reinforcing structure, such as a tube, in the interior of the rudder, said structure being adapted to increase the torsional strength of the rudder and its ability to resist the impact of the waves.

DR. WILLIAM SCHOLZ. 

